Social Distancing Day 30 (written mostly on Day 29) …
I’ve now gone almost an entire month without human interaction (with the exception of a brief exchange about ketchup with the Schnucks cashier on Day 17).
I’m watching a thunderstorm out my apartment window and thinking back to another stormy day – my trip to Busch Stadium, Ballpark No. 6.
And in the context of a stay-at-home order, when some people feel trapped at home and others miss wherever they consider home to be, this already multilayered homecoming tale takes on extra meaning.
No Place Like Home
I spent a good chunk of the first day of summer 2019 indoors at Ballpark Village waiting out a rainstorm. I didn’t mind. After five straight away games in 2018, I needed home-field advantage, even if it meant a long day of sitting and waiting.
It was my return to the place where I watched my team win a World Series, where I tasted my first ballpark hot dog, the gravesite of where I saw my first MLB game (old Busch) and where I fell in love with baseball.
This particular Friday (June 21) not only marked the return of summer and the return of me to my beloved ballpark but also the return of a Cardinals legend, a hero-turned-villain-turned-hero-again, to the place he once called home.
Albert Pujols spent 11 years in St. Louis, where he won two World Series, played in three, made nine All-Star Game rosters and was named National League MVP three times.
Then he left.
Going into this game, he had played seven and a half seasons for the Angels and hadn’t faced the Cardinals in St. Louis over that span … until June 21, 2019.
It was a series I (like most Cardinals fans) had anticipated for nearly eight years – first out of anger and a desire for revenge, then out of respect and a need for closure.
Ballpark #6
The game itself, a Friday-night matchup with the Los Angeles Angels, was a bit overshadowed by the magnitude of what it meant – a game with such a draw that it brought my brother back on a nearly four-hour, red-eye flight after moving to Oregon.
It was a hot ticket that drew a big crowd with even bigger ovations. And before the game, I had intended to have a big day in St. Louis. The weather said otherwise, so I skipped the Arch and sheltered in place with my family at Ballpark Village for nearly five hours.
While waiting out the thunderstorm, we ate at the Cardinals Nation restaurant and explored the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, where I noticed this quote among an entire wall of quotes at the start of the museum.
“We’ve got the best fans in St. Louis. A lot of people want to come and play in St. Louis because of the way the fans treat us.”
Albert Pujols
The quote from a man who chose to leave provided the perfect backdrop for his own reunion with those fans years later.
After a deep dive into Cardinals history, we ate more food (snacks) at the Budweiser Brew House (but I also had to save room for a hot dog in the ballpark).
After much eating, standing, sitting, waiting and eating again, we bought ponchos, walked to the the stadium and made our way to our seats (section 447, row 9) for what was about to be a magical night.
Roller Coaster of Big Moments
The rain let up about an hour before game time as if it knew we had an important engagement that couldn’t be postponed.
The first time Pujols came out of the dugout to stretch, I didn’t notice him on the field. Neither team had taken batting practice, and the tarp had been removed only minutes earlier. But I heard the roar of the crowd and caught on as it grew louder (or maybe because my brother told me).
It’s one of those snapshots in time I wish I could relive, screaming along with thousands of people who once felt betrayed by their one-time hero who was now simply stretching before a game. The second booming ovation came when the starting lineup was announced.
But the third ovation was the loudest … and brought a roller coaster of emotions.
Unfortunately, Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha had already given up a run and had a man on third when Pujols came up in the first inning.
Despite the less-than-optimal game situation, we (all 48,423 of us) went from annoyed to ecstatic, greeting Pujols with an ovation that was as long as it was loud and resulted in the most touching moment of the game – a hug with Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.
Pujols flew out to deep center. (I was relieved. If he was going to get a hit, I wanted it to be with no one on.)
Minutes later, Matt Carpenter led off the bottom of the first. Like Pujols’ extended at-bat, spurred by a crowd that wouldn’t stop cheering, Carpenter’s plate appearance was also interrupted. But this time, it wasn’t the crowd.
An ominous message played over the loudspeakers telling everyone to head to the concourse in a monotone (borderline eerie) voice similar to the National Weather Service messages that play on the radio during severe storm warnings.
But it didn’t say what kind of emergency was happening, and we knew it wasn’t weather-related.
Fans started filing toward the concourse in orderly fashion, impressive for how panic-inducing the situation felt. (Unspeakable thoughts like bombs and shootings raced through my head.) Luckily, before it was my row’s turn to leave, the public address announcer told us it was a false alarm, so everyone sat back down.
Game on.
In a matter of minutes, nearly 50,000 people went from frustration with a starting pitcher to pure adoration of a former superstar to thinking our lives might be in danger and back to wanting to win a ballgame again.
Game Highlights
The Cardinals ultimately ended up winning 5-1, but the box score took a back seat to the moments that made up the game. (And no, I wouldn’t look back on this game as fondly if the Cardinals had lost.)
Along with probably 30 minutes worth of Pujols ovations and a game-stopping emergency alarm, a couple other notable things happened (as in I literally made note of them on my phone).
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a foul ball out of the stadium during his second plate appearance. (Think about that … out of the stadium.) He pulled the ball down the third base line and over the upper deck, making him the only player known to have accomplished this feat in the stadium’s 14 seasons.
And Wacha (a career .093 hitter) got a rare single to right field to add to a solid night on the mound, giving up just one run on five hits over six innings of work.
Left fielder Marcell Ozuna was the hero of the night (aside from Pujols obviously) with three hits and three RBIs, including a solo home run.
We showed our appreciation every time Pujols came to the plate, especially after his infield single in his last at-bat of the night and when he subsequently came out for a pinch runner.
That moment may have been the final time I ever see Albert Pujols play in person. And if it is, this time, he left on good terms.
Busch Stadium’s Where My Heart Is
Away games are fun, colorful and new, but after watching the Cardinals exclusively on the road for five straight games, it felt nice to click my Keds together and end up back at Busch Stadium.
There’s something refreshing about cheering along with your own family and 48,000 fans all wearing the same colors, wanting the same thing.
I’m still going to follow that yellow brick road that leads to the other 29 stadiums, but home will always be my happy place.
